City Of Clockwork
by the strings
Summary: After Jem and Tessa's wedding, their honeymoon takes them to many different countries. Things aren't as they seem when they find out about new threat looming towards the New York institute. Will they sacrifice their romantic vacation for a battle that will put their promises to the test? Jem/Tessa. Mainly centered on Jessa. Malec and Sizzy in later chapters.
1. Wales

**A/N: Im writing this series to fill in for the lack of Jessa. It takes place during their honeymoon! Purely Jessa until the later chapters which will include Malec and other ships. I'm really excited for this project! I hope Jessa fans enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters. Cassandra clare owns everything except the plot. **

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Tessa frowned at the mud splattered on her shoes. A lock of her hair was whisked away from the others by a gust of wind and fell right above her mouth. She spluttered and kicked some grass to get the dirt off of her right shoe. She heard a laugh come from her right as someone approached. She glanced up to see Jem, looking windblown, with a grin plastered on his face and a picnic basket in his right hand. She scowled.

"Don't laugh at me, Carstairs. It was your idea to come here." She scolded. He put his hands up in mock defeat.

"No need to be harsh; besides, isn't it beautiful?" Jem said, setting down the basket. He pushed her scarf out of the way lightly to kiss her cheek and wrap his arms around her waist.

She had to admit he was right. The hills rolled on for what seemed like miles ahead of them. Though it was cloudy, the countryside was still brightly lit. Fields and meadows varied from different shades of green and gold, rippling like waves when the wind touched them. Tessa put her hands on top of his that were resting on her left hip. His head was resting on her shoulder gently as he stared off thoughtfully at the seemingly eternal length of the land.

"Why here?" Tessa inquired, though she guessed the answer.

Jem's dark hair brushed against her ear. She could feel his wedding ring, cold against his warm fingers.

"It reminds me of Will." He said truthfully. "I know we could have gone anywhere but I wanted to visit Wales first. It seemed right. It feels like I'm finally paying my respects after all my years as a Silent Brother. I never did get to mourn his passing properly." He fell quiet, his voice was desolate. Tessa, though it was long ago, was reminded of Will's final days. She looked across the hills, silently thanking Will for everything he'd done for her.

Jem drew away from her, taking her hands as if they were about to waltz. His eyes were crinkling with happiness, matching his smile.

"This trip is about us. This is a happy occasion! Will would smack me upside the head if he thought we were mourning on our honeymoon!" He moved back, keeping her at arms length before moving back in and spinning her. Tessa laughed, silently agreeing. Too much of her life was spent in grief. She had Jem at her side and that was all that mattered.

Jem held her hand like it was fragile porcelain. He always treated her as such. Like something so perfect that it couldn't possibly be real. Something he had to be careful not to break.

She grabbed his hands firmly, stopping their dance for a moment. His expression changed to one of confusion before she reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He staggered back a step, but returned the kiss just as forcefully with his hands on her lower back. She was strong, she wasn't going to shatter. With every kiss he seemed to understand a bit more. Their kisses lingered, even as she met his dark eyes with her's.

"I love you." She whispered, speaking to him and only him, afraid that if she spoke louder the hills might hear it too.

"And I, you, my darling Tessa." Jem replied, bringing his hand around to affectionately touch the jade pendant at her throat.

Tessa kissed him one last time and pulled away, saying, "I'd rather not go back to the motel just yet. We still have much to explore."

Jem's eyes were shone with delight.

"Wales awaits us." He agreed.

A ray of sunlight peaked through the clouds, illuminating one of the far away fields in glittering sunlight.

"It seems heaven itself has picked a perfect place for our romantic picnic." Jem says pointing to the meadow haloed in glowing daylight.

"Well, come on then!" Tessa pestered, making a summoning gesture with her hands. She laughed as she walked towards it, down the spiraling path. Jem picked up the picnic basket and followed her down the path. Her crimson scarf was the only bright color to be seen for miles.

Tessa kept pointing out the scenery but his eyes never left her. They were drinking in her appearance at every opportunity. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail with small strands falling in her eyes. She had on a sweater and dark skinny jeans. She was more beautiful than the white wild flowers or shimmering sunlight.

After centuries of waiting, they were finally together.

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**A/N: please review! More chapters to come!**


	2. Paris

**A/N: This chapter takes ****place**** in Paris! So much Jessa... I love it!**

**Warning: This chapter contains a graphic kissing scene and implied sex scene. There is some humor to ****balance**** it out.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters. Cassandra clare owns everything except the plot.**

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"Paris? Really? I should have known you were a hopeless romantic!" Tessa teased as they walked out of the hotel. Jem bumped her shoulder with his, embarrassed.

"What can I say? Its the city of love. Where else would we go on our honeymoon if not here? Plus, they allow pets here and I couldn't leave Church behind." Jem defended, taking her hand and kissing her cheek. Tessa rolled her eyes.

"What do you want to do first?" Before she could blink, Jem thrust a map in her face with places circled in red sharpie. She grabbed it with her free hand and squinted to read the names.

"Notre Dame? Arc De Triophe? Palais Garnier? Eiffel Tower? These places are so cliché." Noticing Jem's disappointed look she squeezed his hand and added, "Its perfect. Where do you want to go first?"

Jem's smile lit up, "Lets see the Arc De Triophe first, then the Garnier." Tessa nodded and stepped forward to continue down the side walk, but Jem's grip on her hand tightened and pulled her back. He lowered his face down to her's and whispered,

"I hear the Eiffel Tower looks divine at night. _Very_ romantic." Tessa shivered involuntarily and reached up to meet his lips.

The city itself was setting the mood. A romantic feeling carried itself through the wind, even when they first arrived. _The city of love_, she thought, _how fitting._

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The Arc De Triophe was beautiful, Tessa spent most of the time admiring the detailed architecture before Jem practically dragged her over to get a formal picture taken.

Tessa spoke fluent French which helped a great deal since Jem was a little rusty and terrible with directions. She noticed that he would become infatuated with the tiniest little things, like how fast the pictures took to process or how advanced the phones were. He almost screamed when he saw a train. He had grabbed her arm so tightly, she let out a gasp and soothed him until he calmed down. He apologized several times about the incident, saying that the Silent Brothers almost never allowed him outside unless he was called upon by Shadowhunters.

The Garnier, however, was unfortunately closed. Jem was extremely disappointed. When Tessa offered to snap them inside, he was firmly against it. He wanted to do everything the legal way, Tessa could hardly blame him. He was so accustomed to traditional ways of acting involving honor. It was a surprisingly attractive quality; at least, Tessa thought so.

Night had fallen and Jem was eager to get to the Eiffel tower. He insisted that the Notre Dame could wait. They stood in the middle of an incredibly long and slow line, but it was worth it when they reached the top.

"Wow." Tessa breathed, her eyes wide and hands on the railing. The view from the top was extraordinary. The dull colors of the city faded to black and all that could be seen were the fluorescent lights on every street corner. The sky was indigo and the clouds were a deep purple as moonlight seeped through them. It was like the ground had replaced the sky and became speckled with thousands of glowing stars. She felt lightheaded.

Jem was behind her, his head resting on the top of her head, his arms curled around her waist.

"This is amazing." He marveled, his eyes were staring ahead unblinking. "Now I know why its called the city of lights."

"I wish," Tessa started, leaning her head back against his chest, "We could just stay in this moment forever."

"Technically, you will." Murmured Jem. He said it without scorn or sadness, just as a fact. Tessa didn't know whether that made her feel any better about the comment.

"You know what I mean." Tessa responded, unable to prevent herself from feeling guilty.

"Jem, you know if I could find a cure, I would-" Jem shushed her.

"Don't talk like you have...a disease, Tessa. I had an addiction once and it felt like a disease. It was only killing me when I let it. Don't let immortality become your _Yin Fen_. Don't let it consume you." Tessa spun around and kissed him. He melted against her, his hands resting lightly on her hips.

"It won't consume me as long as I have you." She whispered against his lips. The shadows across his face didn't hide the longing in his eyes as he pulled her back in. Her hands cupped his face and held him against her. The kiss deepened and she was pressed against the railing. Thousands of feet below her was the ground but she wasn't afraid. She knew Jem would never let anything bad happen to her. She pulled away. Jem stared at her, breathless. She was so beautiful surrounded by twinkling lights.

"How is it," Jem asked softly, his eyes full of wonder. "That you manage to make me fall in love with you every day?"

Tessa reached out and touched the light scars on his cheeks.

"How is it," He asked again, leaning into her touch. "That you still look just as beautiful as the day I first met you"

Tessa smiled, her eyes full of starlight. She reached up to speak in his ear, "Take me back to the hotel."

He nodded and kissed her sweetly as the sky faded from dark blue to black.

They made it back to the hotel much more quickly then Jem would have thought possible, but then again, Tessa was more than willing to bypass some laws with her magic to get them there. Surprisingly, Jem didn't protest.

Tessa opened the door of their suite and walked towards the bedroom before Jem closed the door and followed her. They didn't bother closing the bedroom door since their hands were a little busy. Jem's touches were gentle like butterfly wings, and his lips were soft and cool like satin against her skin. He kept whispering his thoughts against her neck and she gasped at every syllable that met her skin.

She lay back on the bed slowly, allowing Jem to reposition himself on top of her. She reached up and undid the buttons on his formal white shirt. It slid off of his shoulders easily and he shook it off. He removed his lips from her neck, allowing her to lift her arms up, so he could remove her shirt. He tugged on her blue scarf, muttering about how inconvenient they were, until Tessa untied it and dropped it on the floor.

They continued to kiss as things became more heated until Tessa saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She stopped Jem's movements and looked around. They both jumped when they heard a hiss come from the doorway. It was Church looking irritated, as if _they_ had inconvenienced _him_.Jem sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"This is just like last time. I feel like this cat has a death wish." He muttered, leaving Tessa confused.

He got up off of Tessa, pushed the fluffy cat out of the doorway with his foot and closed the door; locking it for good measure. Tessa shivered at the air temperature compared to Jem's body heat. Jem walked back towards the bed and stopped halfway. He seemed mesmerized by Tessa. Tessa felt the same, staring up at Jem. His dark hair messy, his pupils large and his lips parted slightly. Tessa wanted him in every sense of the word.

Jem leaned over her, his arms holding him up. His eyes were darkened with lust but there was a hint of caring in the lines of his face.

"Ni hen piao liang" He whispered like it was a secret.

_You are beautiful._

"Not as beautiful as you." Tessa whispered back. Jem looked somewhat surprised. A smile tuged at the corner of his mouth.

"You remember that?" Tessa noded silently in response. "I remember that was one of the best and worst days of my life." Jem said, pulling the pins out of Tessa's brown hair and letting it all tumble down. He ran his hand through it lovingly.

"I remember what you said next. Though I'm sorry to say that I look much different now." He added sheepishly. Tessa looked up at him. He was right, he looked much healthier, no silver plaguing his skin, eyes or hair. He looked like a statue that had come to life. His lips and cheeks flushed with blood looked rosy. He finally looked _alive_.

"Beautiful...You are still beautiful, James Carstairs." She said. His eyes were open and vulnerable as he reached down to kiss her. He remembered what he had said hundreds of years ago, _She is not made of delicate china. She will not break_. He knew this to be true even now. Tessa was strong, not fragile, but he still treated her as so. He did not wish to be the one, after several centuries, to finally break her.

The kissing continued and Jem's hands unclasped her bra.

There was no _Yin Fen_ to knock over this time.

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**A/N: Woah. A bit more graphic then intended, but lets be honest; that was a lot of years of sexual tension building up to this. **

**More chapters soon!**


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